Rising Waters
by Chrys-DASL
Summary: A flood is headed to Elwood City. While the children don't know what to make of it, the adults have a good idea of what's about to go down...yet even they will be wrong. First story for my new Disasters series. R&R.
1. Chapter 1

RISING WATERS

CHAPTER ONE

The weather report didn't seem like that big of a deal to the kids. Rain upon rain, three systems back to back to back set to hit Elwood City and the northeastern U.S. Ladonna was happy to try out her new rain boots, as was DW. Muffy had a shiny pink umbrella from a boutique in Metropolis, and Francine was eager to avoid the soccer field after missing an important goal in the previous game.

But the adults, the knowing ones, were terrified. They all knew what this meant, this extra rain. They'd already had plenty during the spring, rains that had melted the two feet of snow that had accumulated during the last month of winter. All this liquid, all this precipitation was piling on itself, and these systems were going to push everything to the brinks. Dams could break as water built up in their reservoirs, and streets could be piled so high with water that everything on them gets washed away. Homes could be damaged beyond repair, and some near the rivers could get washed away altogether.

The only kid who seemed to understand was Brain. He knew exactly what rain upon rain would mean thanks to a recent unit he'd taken up on climate change. Mrs. Turner at the local library gave him books to read and a list of websites he might want to visit, and each one showed him dangers. Droughts, hurricanes, blizzards, and floods, the most common disaster of all. Floods came two ways, from melting snow and ice from the winter months or an onslaught of rain. The Plains had already flooded that spring from a combination of both. Now it was the northeast's turn, but this flood would be from the rain above, not from melting snow or a hurricane or anything else. Just rain, falling in waves and flowing towards places not equipped to take it all.

The stress showed on him as he entered Mr. Ratburn's class. He and Mr. Ratburn had the same worried, stressed out look. Bags around the eyes, paler than usual skin, and gestures that expressed worry—Brain chewed his pencil without realizing what he was doing as Mr. Ratburn played with his hands, no position being comfortable enough. Both of them had their eyes locked outside the window, where the first system had already dumped two inches on the city during the night. This was nothing, they realized, but it was something when you knew at least six inches would fall between then and noon, then five more during the night, and so on.

"C-Class, settle down," Mr. Ratburn stammered, grabbing a paper from his desk and moving to the chalkboard. Students knew this meant a morning warm-up, a pop quiz probably on the arithmetic they'd learned the day before. Mr. Ratburn moved to the board, grabbing a piece of chalk with shaky fingers. He could barely write the numbers and their signs, and the class noticed his handwriting had taken two steps back.

Brain could write or think at all. Now that the class was quiet, he could hear the rain in the gutter just outside the window. Drops hitting the gutter made a metallic noise as they hit then rolled down the outside of the spout. The rest poured from the roof, sounding like a roaring river in his ears. In reality it was a soft noise with a light metallic noise, like a bubbling brook trapped in a wide metal tube.

"Five minutes," Mr. Ratburn said, setting an egg timer on his desk with fingers still weak from shaking. He set the timer down and looked up, his eyes locking with Brain's. Brain's gaze was fixed out the window, and Ratburn knew this kid was his one ally.

A knock sounded at the door and Mr. Ratburn stepped outside. Principal Haney was there with Superintendent Clark. Mary Clark was new, but she'd seen this kind of weather before. She looked more worried than anyone, but she still flashed a toothy smile to Ratburn. He wondered if her rabbit ears always hung so low or if it was the stress.

"We wanted your opinion on something, Nigel," Principal Haney began, not a hint of worry in voice…at first, "Superintendent Clark wanted to talk to her teachers to see what they thought. Should we cancel school for tomorrow, maybe release early today?" he asked with a catch in his voice.

"That depends," Mr. Ratburn began, clearing his throat in an attempt to push away the stress that choked his words, "If we're going to get as much rain as they said this morning today, then yes, we should close early so parents aren't navigating flooded streets. As for tomorrow, I would cancel the entire day. By then we'll have too much for most gutters to handle. Streets will be lakes—"

"I know," she said, nodding firmly as she looked behind her. Miss Sweetwater appeared with an ignorant smile. Ratburn knew she was just like the students, clueless to the danger from up above.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

"Mom says she and Dad took the day off to put sandbags around the house," Arthur said over lunch. The room was buzzing because the announcement that came just before the kindergarteners began lunch—schools would close at noon, just long enough for students to get fed and organized to their buses.

Buster, who was happy he lived in a complex with workers to do that for him, nodded to Arthur, "At least we don't have much homework. As long as the power stays on we'll have a new episode of Bionic Bunny tonight."

"The power is the least of our worries," Brain said grimly as he picked at his peas. He looked up with a fierce expression, "Arthur, your parents are smart planners."

"Oh it wasn't their idea," Ladonna jumped in, "I told my parents to spread the word. Muffy said her people had Bailey hire some people or call in the gardeners or somethin'. Anybody who can is preparin', but I ain't worried. Louisiana was low country. This is higher ground here. We'll be fine."

"Anywhere can flood, darling, even Elwood City," Mrs. MacGrady said. She was walking around with her hands covered in food prep gloves. There were extra fries and she was giving them out to anyone who wanted them. Buster eagerly took an extra portion. Mrs. MacGrady liked his enthusiasm and gave him another one before looking back up to see Ladonna's response.

"But this is higher ground," Ladonna argued.

Mrs. MacGrady shook her head, "Even Everest could flood if it kept raining and raining. I've seen it happen here before, ten years ago I think. You all weren't born yet, but you should ask your older siblings if you have them," she said, her eyes falling on Francine.

Francine shook her head, "Catherine doesn't remember anything that doesn't have something to do with her directly."

"Well, she'd remember this. It was scary. The power went out at noon. It was summer, so the kids were already home, mad about their cartoons shutting off. They were trapped inside by the rain, rain just like this. It's May this time, not quite time to let schools out, but it's the same setup. Rain for days. Day One was fine. Day Two was okay. By Day Three, people were evacuated. Houses were flooded. Some fancy cabins fell directly into a river about twenty miles from here. An old lady died because she was too stubborn to leave. Never found her. She probably got swept out to sea."

Mrs. MacGrady moved on, but her words lingered. This was Day One and things were fine. Day Two was going to be okay because they didn't have school, which meant no homework assignments. Day Three was beyond what these young kids could think about, but Brain's grim expression told them she was right: Things were not going to be okay.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Jane was dirty and frazzled as she picked Arthur up. DW and Kate were in the backseat. DW was singing along loudly to the radio, her voice off key and most of the words were wrong. Kate ignored her completely, gurgling as she played with a teething ring in her fingers. Arthur buckled into the front and looked up at his mother. Her eyes were set straight ahead, her eyes reflecting the windshield wipers moving back and forth. Taillights from the stopped bus in front of them caught Arthur's attention and he looked ahead again.

"Do I need to help with more sandbags when we get home?" Arthur asked cheerfully.

"No," Jane said simply, her tone sharper than she intended. She turned back to Arthur, "Sorry, I'm just exhausted. Your dad barely got the message from the preschool about early release, then they called about you. He's finishing up now. There's nothing more we can do."

DW suddenly stopped singing, and Arthur realized because they were playing a weather report. Elwood City was under a Flash Flood Watch for the next three days, if not more. Jane shook her head and popped in a CD. DW got back to singing, but Arthur was still interested on his mother's lingering words: _nothing more we can do_.

"What does that mean?" he finally asked.

She turned to him so fast it was like a flash of lightning. He regretted the question, but Jane gave him a stern response anyway, "This is serious. Ladonna's father says we'll be fine, but what do they know? Yeah they've been through more floods, but I know what can happen here. People could die tonight, tomorrow, and the day after. They could get swept away or drown in their homes. It's going to be miserable! But sandbags, yeah, that'll help…today. Maybe the day after that too if we're lucky. But they can't hold back the rain. It's going to keep falling, and they said this morning it could rain more than they expected. Do you know what that means?"

"I get the idea," Arthur murmured.

Jane looked to him again, "Look, I'm sorry. I just…I remember what happened last time, ten years ago. No one listened to the warnings, even smart people who knew better. I had to go to the funeral of a close friend because she just had to have milk. She ran out of milk for her coffee and went out to get more. She drove onto a road covered with flowing water, not realizing the road had washed away underneath. It took two days for the crews to attempt fishing her car from where it ended up. They knew she was dead so they didn't waste their time."

"That's terrible," DW said. It took a moment for both Jane and Arthur to realize she'd heard everything. Her happy mood was broken, but Kate remained oblivious, drooling and cooing as she finally put the teething ring to her mouth for its intended purpose.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

The house had a ring of sandbags around it, but Arthur wondered if it would be enough. Across town, Muffy was shocked by the ugliness of the bags surrounding her home, a wall that kept growing as a team of ten guys worked. She was suddenly conscious of how close they were to a small creek, one that was prone to overflowing its banks after a summer storm. How would it be now that it was raining for days?

Kids across Elwood City were finally realizing how dire the situation was. The grim expressions of the adults combined with ROAD CLOSED signs being set up near areas where bridges could wash out, plus the sandbags and constant weather reports, helped them see the gravity of the situation. Elwood City was about to get pounded by inches upon inches of rain.

Brain knew what that meant. One inch of rain falling in one place wouldn't go very far, but one inch of rain covering an entire city piled up as that water flowed downhill or into storm drains, flowing and piling up as the water dispersed. It all ended up in the Atlantic Ocean at some point, and one inch of rain usually took a day to do that. This was more than one inch and more than one day. The math eluded him, but he knew this wasn't good.

A quiet sank over the city. No cars with blaring music went by, and normally rowdy houses calmed. Francine was struck by this as she sat reading in her room, her mind finally wondering why she wasn't having to concentrate harder over the wrestling boys from downstairs or the stomping lady from two doors down. She realized she didn't have to concentrate over them because they were quiet, so quiet that it kept her from reading. She was worried now, and she soon joined her family in the living room, where they gathered around the television set and watched a daytime talk show.

Kids across the city were surprised by this. Why was Dad watching a soap opera on CBS? Why was Mom watching that medical show she hated? They watched on too wondering why they were there. But then a commercial came. No jingles flooded the room or screaming voices begging for you to buy their products. Instead the local meteorologists appeared, tracking more rain after telling you how much had fallen so far—two point sixty-three, whatever that meant.

Things were tense but fine. The news reports eventually came on in due time. Muffy noticed the creek by her house was on the news, but it was still well within its banks. ROAD CLOSED signs were only out in anticipation for tomorrow, when the water would rise underneath bridges and put them at risk for washing out. Or for when storm drains clogged or water piled up or something. Sandbags weren't holding back water yet, just providing ominous fortresses around the city's vulnerable houses and buildings.

People were encouraged to create their own walls if they hadn't already, check their pumps in their basements, and make sure their outside pets had plenty of shelter. Children were encouraged to stay inside and enjoy their day off. Reporters tried to be positive, but the mood in Elwood City remained the same: Tense anticipation for the danger to come.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FIVE

The children of Elwood City woke up slowly, many of them not remembering the danger. Arthur squinted at the dim light coming through his window. He and Buster made the same mistake, hearing the rain and thinking they'd overslept before school. But soon kids were reunited in front of the televisions their parents were glued to, watching the circulating reports. In the night, seven inches fell across the city. Creeks were cresting, reaching their banks and entering flood stage. A few roads had been closed downtown due to blocked storm drains, which crews couldn't clear before it became too dangerous to attempt.

"They sometimes work themselves free," a man from the DOT (Department of Transportation) told viewers, but the flooded streets were just another reminder for the adults. Jane moved into the kitchen to put together an elaborate breakfast out of nervousness.

Buster was the only exception. Bitzi was at the office covering the flood, writing articles herself or editing the works of others so they could quickly be added to the newspaper's online feed. No deliveries would be happening today, namely because of the flooded streets, but also because the printing room had an inch of water on the floor. Janitors and a mechanic were working to fix the problem, but Bitzi had seen the streets nearby. One was filling up with water because of a lack of storm drains, a problem news crews were noticing as well.

At the Crosswire mansion, Muffy found her dad and Bailey looking out an upper window towards the creek. Muffy gasped as she found another window to peer out of. She'd never been able to see the creek from the bridge before, let alone from her house. As she watched, she noticed a flash of blue as something floated down the creek-turned-river.

"I think a playground has been hit," Ed whispered as a flash of red came next. The object bobbed out of the water long enough for Muffy to make out the shape of a slide. Ed nodded, "I knew they built that new one at the tennis courts too close to the creek."

"You are right, Sir. That park was on the news earlier because of a retaining wall collapse," Bailey nodded. "That is most certainly the equipment from that park."

Muffy nodded as a tennis net flashed in the water. She looked up to her father, who finally took notice of her and stepped towards her, "Muffin, I promise you that you're safe. Nothing is going to happen to you here."

"But we have a plan in place just in case we need to leave," Millicent said, entering the room with a steaming cup of coffee in her fingers. She looked out the windows and shook her head, "All of that money wasted because of a failed retaining wall. I just saw the shots on the news. Even the courts are covered and washing away. Yep, there's a net."

"Another one," Muffy muttered, choosing not to look again. She instead looked to her mother, "Where will we go if we have to leave?"

"There are shelters popping up around the city," Ed replied, turning to his daughter, "but we have something better in mind. A friend of mine has an upstairs office downtown that he's offered to us. He and his family left town a few days ago."

"Yes, I noticed," Millicent scoffed, muttering something about Hawaii under her breath.

"Should I check the retaining wall once again?" Bailey questioned.

Ed shook his head, "No, I believe we've done all we can with the wall. I sent the workers home last night and told them that they can best serve me by remaining safe through this disaster."

Muffy looked out the window, shocked to see an entire plastic jungle gym structure floating up the creek. Her mother shook her head beside her, turning back towards the stairs insisting it was a shame that so much money was wasted on something that didn't even last a year.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

Ladonna wasn't surprised to hear that her dad was out helping with the flood, but she was shocked to hear that he was hours away helping another town instead of theirs. After breakfast, Ladonna followed her mother into the master bedroom, where her mother was using the bed to fold laundry.

"Mama, why'd he go so far away? Don't we need help here too?" Ladonna asked. Her mother folded one of Bud's t-shirts and handed it to Ladonna, who put it in his pile.

Her mother sighed, "Well, that town needs more help than us at the moment. He said they did ten high-water rescues last night. One woman didn't make it, and he said seven people are missing. A bridge washed out without warning over a highway. They've already gotten all of their rain, but we're next. He'll come back here then."

"How is Elwood City?" Ladonna asked. Her mother shrugged and pointed for her to go to the television to find out for herself. The playground Muffy saw wash up her creek was no longer the top story. A creek than runs through the eastern side of town had reached flood stage, and another road was closed downtown as the water neared the bottom edge of a bridge.

"It's gonna wash away!" Bud cried, a wide grin on her face.

Ladonna remembered the highway bridge her mother mentioned and shook her head grimly, "It's not fun, Bud. People could die."

"But they got the road closed. As long as nobody's stupid enough to not listen to the signs, nobody'll get hurt," he argued, his child-like wonder fading from his face. "Can't I watch something cool without being judged?"

"Not when people really could get hurt," Ladonna said fiercely, rushing to her room and slamming the door behind her.

Francine heard a similar noise from the apartment with the rowdy boys. Their frazzled mother let them have it for laughing about the playground washing away, so she sent them to their room fiercely. Francine was happy for the familiar sound, but now things were too loud. People were arguing, the tension from the impending flood causing other tensions to rise. Francine's own parents argued over breakfast, namely because her dad wanted to go to work. Their mother wouldn't let him, and Francine was glad. More roads were being closed as a precaution, and it was still raining.

Francine looked out her window as a flash of lightning caught her attention. Thunder came a minute later, rolling over the soggy town. Francine let her eyes move away from the grey clouds and down to the saturated earth. Puddles in a lot nearby had grown to pool-sized portions, and there was a small brook in the road leading to a storm drain.

Jenna saw a similar sight out her window, but she could also see a DOT crew circling the block checking storm drains. They were clear but growing full with water, and Jenna wondered how much water the city's sewers could handle.

Brain was doing the math. He had numbers from websites, but he couldn't figure things out. Besides, adding things up was only stressing him out further, and his mother made repeated attempts to lure him into a quiet game of Battleship or Chess to keep him occupied.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SEVEN

Nigel Ratburn looked out his window and realized the street was covered with a water flow. Within minutes of this realization, an officer was pounding on his door. His block was being evacuated. It was downhill from a creek that was cresting a few miles away closer to town, and officials were concerned these low-lying areas could be covered in water soon.

Nigel looked around his house. So many items he cherished, so many things he yearned to keep. He knew they were just things, material belongings he could easily replace. But as he eyed an award for a puppet show he did for a competition a few years ago, he began to wonder.

There was no time to go through the house. He went into business mode, pulling a red duffle bag out of the bottom of his closet. He piled it with clothes, then he moved to the kitchen and grabbed some flashlights and batteries from his "Important Stuff" drawer. He then grabbed a lockbox containing important documents and stepped outside.

Rain was coming down in sheets, but that wasn't the wetness he took note of. There was an inch of water flowing over his yard, covering the toe of his sneaker and sending water up his sock. He cursed under his breath and eyed his car. He didn't feel comfortable driving in this weather, and officials had made the same decision. An officer yelled in a military-like voice for evacuees to report to a city bus. Nigel knew they weren't running because of the weather, which made it easy for the city to call them in for important things like this.

As he stepped into the bus, he heard what he thought was thunder. He then realized it was a helicopter, probably from a local news station. He then heard another, then a third as the last family was piled inside. People were crying. The only thing anyone had with them was a bag or two. One old woman held a metal urn in her lap, an old leather suitcase at her feet. Nigel remembered her—seventy-eight, recently widowed, her only child killed in Vietnam. He was glad she at least had her husband's ashes, that she'd at least be safe.

Five minutes later the bus departed. Soon they were at Elwood City High School. The gym swarmed with other people who had evacuated their homes, some by choice but others by force. The number of those forced evacuations was growing. Nigel hoped they could reach those at-risk neighborhoods in time, especially now that it really was thundering and the rain fell in blinding sheets.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

Buster hated being alone. He sat on the couch, his legs tucked under him as he watched the news. The newspaper had made the morning news because of the basement flooding, but his mother's top assistant told the people that they were fine, that a pump had been placed inside the room and things were okay for now. He wished his mother had spread the news, but she texted him constantly. She was fine but she was worried about him. He was the same about her, and discomfort grew within him. He wished none of this was happening.

Another breaking news story came on. Buster recognized the neighborhood immediately, and he even caught a glimpse of the only person he knew that lived there: Nigel Ratburn. A creek was flooding and they needed to evacuate the residents. Buster knew Ratburn was safe, but the helicopter's camera showed exactly why they were being pulled away. Water was rising on the street, and he knew their homes were in grave danger.

Buster decided to examine his own area. He went upstairs to his room and pulled back his space-themed curtains. Rain fell in large drops, big enough for him to track them to the ground. Large puddles were in their usual places—by the dumpster, in front of Building B (where no one was parked, thankfully), and near the basketball court. There was a small bit of rushing water heading into a storm drain nearby. Buster noticed a Coke can bobbing at the entrance that was at the wrong angle to go in.

A moment later, a member of the condo's ground screw picked up the Coke can and put it in a bag tied to his hip somehow. Buster thanked him under his breath and turned his attention to a sheriff's SUV rolling slowly through the neighborhood. He watched it closely until it left the area. Buster exhaled, glad that they weren't coming to evacuate him.

The student's in Mr. Ratburn's class tensed when they found out their beloved teacher was being evacuated. Francine was pulled from her room at the news, and she sat like many others, her eyes glued to the television as she watched the bus leave the street, where water was steadily rising. A live shot confirmed why they were leaving: The water had gone up another three inches, and the road was no longer visible.

Binky was stunned at the images. Mei-Lin squirmed uncomfortably beside him. She and Kate had both been restless, feeding off the tense energy coming from the adults around them. Both played with teething rings, begging for people to sit with them or hold them. Binky held Mei-Lin in his lap and flipped it over to the public kids' channel. A scrolling message at the bottom said that parts of Elwood City were now in Flash Flood Warnings based on the watershed they were in. Mr. Ratburn's neighborhood was the Blue Creek basin, and residents were under a mandatory evacuation order set forth by the mayor herself.

Binky gulped. He knew things were getting bad because it had been raining and raining, but his teacher being evacuated because the mayor said so? That was crazy.

"Kids, are you in here?" Binky's mom called. Binky responded, but when he looked up and saw his mother in her nurse's uniform, he felt himself grow tense. His mother noticed, "I know, I know, it's not the best weather. Your father called his buddy from work, Mr. Brian. He's going to drive me to the hospital. I promise to stay there until this whole flood thing is over, namely because that's what I told my boss," she grinned.

"But what about us?" Binky cried as his mother scooped up Mei-Lin and held her close.

Their mother sighed, "Your father will be here, and I'll call you whenever I'm able. I have to go in. The hospital is now in emergency mode, and we'll stay that way until this is over. Just keep your sister company and make sure your dad doesn't worry too much," she winked, kissing Mei-Lin's forehead before handing her back to Binky. She then kissed his cheek, "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too," Binky choked. He heard a car pull up, and soon his mother was in it, being driven away from him. Even though the man would drive slowly, it still felt like he was speeding away with his mother and driving her straight into danger.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

The day moved slowly. Story after story broke on the news channels. People were sick of listening to it, but they couldn't pull themselves away. As four became five and five six, some people finally pulled themselves from the television to put together dinner. Arthur watched his mother go through the motions in their kitchen while David sat transfixed. Kate was babbling in his arms, seemingly ignoring everyone, but Arthur knew if they tried to take her to her crib for a nap, or if they left her alone for a single moment, she'd scream as if something was taking her.

As darkness fell, tension rose higher. Rain continued to fall, but now people couldn't see much of anything when they looked out their windows. Muffy was comforted. At least she couldn't see the creek anymore, she thought, but then worry took over. She couldn't see the creek anymore, and neither could anyone else. It would continue to rise. She knew that. And it would continue to spread out from its banks. If it spread as far as their estate, would they know it was coming?

Around eight, Millicent decided they should go to bed. Muffy dressed and brushed her teeth diligently, careful to leave her shoes and a travel outfit of jeans, a long-sleeved thin t-shirt, and her favorite rainy day boots, next to her bed. Millicent noticed when she went to kiss her good night, and she knew she had to give her daughter some reassurance.

"Bailey has first watch, otherwise he'd be up here now. At midnight, he and your father will switch, then they'll switch again at four. Then we'll all be awake to keep watch," Millicent smiled, kissing Muffy's forehead. She smoothed her hair and whispered, "We would never let anything happen to you."

"I know that, but even Mr. Ratburn is being evacuated. He's my teacher and he's probably going to lose everything. It's terrifying!" Muffy cried.

"It is, even for us adults. But there's nothing we can do right now but wait. We'll keep on a television to know what's going on. I'd turn on the weather radio again but there are so many warnings that it's distracting. We'd never get any sleep," she smirked, careful to not to add 'as if we would sleep anyway.'

Muffy was slightly comforted by her words, but when her eyes closed, all she could see were images from the television. A lady and her dog were rescued around six that afternoon after waters rose quickly and disabled her vehicle, an image that haunted her almost as much as seeing the last update on Mr. Ratburn's neighborhood before sundown. Water was up to the base of most windows, and it was expected to keep on rising two inches an hour for every moment it kept raining.

Brain was doing the math himself, so much so that his parents were growing gravely concerned about their son's well-being. He muttered numbers under his breath and refused to eat anything throughout the day. Now that night was here, he was glued to his desk, his lamp on as his bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the paper he was using for his equations. His mother wanted to rip the papers from his possession and force him to sleep, but her husband decided they couldn't do that…yet. He promised to keep an eye on him and on the house. His wife trusted him and went to bed.

Across town, Binky was waiting up by the phone. His father was in the master bedroom with Mei-Lin. It was the only way to keep her calm, and a little after nine they both managed to fall asleep. Binky couldn't sleep yet, not until he heard from his mother.

Around ten, she finally called. She was surprised to hear Binky's voice instead of her husband's, but when he told her about Mei-Lin, she understood.

Before she got off the phone, he was told to leave the television on in the living room, but his room was to remain quiet. If he heard water rushing he was supposed to run. Binky wasn't sure what that meant until the call ended. He then turned on the television and saw the breaking news: A city north of them was getting far more rain, and a reservoir lake was rising steadily. It was rising so quickly that the dam holding it back was set to break within hours, sending thousands of gallons of water rushing south of the city and into the creeks and streams of Elwood City, creeks and streams that were already at their limits because of Elwood City's rain.

Binky wanted to turn off the television. If he couldn't hear it then it wasn't real. But his mother told him to leave it on, so he did. Like Muffy, he put his rain boots by the bed. Unlike Muffy he slept with his clothes on and a flashlight gripped tightly in his hand.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

Buster woke up to the sound of rushing water. He ran down the steps only to find water up to the third step. He looked outside into the dim morning light to see the condo complex with a foot or more of water covering everything. A small skiff with three men on it, all of them in orange life vests, moved slowly through the complex. They were looking at the water, checking the depth with a long pole.

Buster was nearly transfixed until he realized his situation. He had to pack, fast, and get out of there. But where would he go? He pulled on his jeans over his pajamas and grabbed his cellphone from where it was charging. He then texted his mom and let her know what was going on. Bitzi told him to stay upstairs and wait. A boat was coming to get residents and take them to a shelter at George Washington High School across the city.

"Why there?" Buster asked. Bitzi told him the bad news: A dam broke north of Elwood City, and now even the high school closest to them couldn't help. People were being evacuated on ferries as soon as the water was deep enough to support them. To get on one, all he had to do was wait on an upper floor for them to come. He told her people were scouting, and she told him to wait. She would meet him there later.

A few blocks away, Arthur's parents stood at the edge of their sandbag wall. The Molina's had also made a wall, and they too stood at the edge. They were watching water flow past, murky water with strange objects floating past. DW pointed out a plastic lawn chair, and Alberto cried out that he saw someone's blue recycling trash can. Their parents didn't take glee in this. They had to figure out what to do.

Like in Buster's condo complex, a few guys in orange life vests moved up in a small skiff. They used poles to check the depth of the water. Between readings they used a megaphone to tell families to pack one bag per household. A ferry would come by later to pick them up and take them to shelter. This was mandatory for anyone who wanted to survive.

SURVIVE hung in the air like lightning, shocking through the residents. They were stunned to realize things had progressed so quickly. Yesterday the waters were rising, and adults were keen to remind the kids about that flood ten years ago that Mrs. MacGrady mentioned. With this new development, this flood was now worse. In fact, it was the worst flood the region had ever seen in recorded history.

As the Read's packed a bag, which was mostly filled with diapers and supplies for Kate, Arthur heard the news story. A geologist from Elwood City University explained that silt settlements in a nearby rock formation showed that the area had seen great floods at various points in ancient history, but due to a lack of humans and records, we could only estimate how bad it was. But there were gaps in some of the settlements as if a giant wave had washed it away. GIANT WAVE struck Arthur the same way as SURVIVE. He knew it then: This was the end of the world.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN

The ferries trafficked people across town in large packs. Families huddled together in one large pod, easily seen by the helicopters overhead. Francine, who was safe across town in her apartment, watched the story unfold with Katherine at her side. They were stunned at the sudden exodus going on in Elwood City. By the droves, people were being moved to the temporary shelter of George Washington High School. Newscasters and analysts agreed this would only go so far to help the city if everyone needed to be moved.

Muffy watched the same newscast. Unlike Francine, who looked out the window and only saw rain and puddles, Muffy saw the flooded creek, rising well past its banks to become a raging river. It was very close to a sign that Muffy knew was four hundred and thirty steps from her house, and she doubted that was far enough away. She was scared, but when she turned to her parents for comfort, she saw that they were scared too. Ed assured them that the first dam break wouldn't affect their particular creek, but he doubted that would be the only one. It was be the first of many, he said, but he refused to do the research. Bailey offered to help, but Ed wouldn't let him. It was as if he didn't want to know, as if not knowing would keep them safe.

On Fern's street, she felt the same way. She'd been focusing on a good book, but two days into the flood emergency, her book was done and none of the others seemed interesting. She turned her attention to the news in time for the next breaking story: The National Weather Service was predicting that another foot of rain would fall over the next twenty-four hours, only exacerbating the flood problem the northeast was already facing.

Fern felt real fear then. When she looked outside her window, she could see a ROAD CLOSED sign in the distance from a road with faulty storm drains that was no longer passable. She knew a few blocks away was the neighborhood her mother mentioned at dinner the night before, the neighborhood next to Ratburn's whose houses were now entirely covered in water. Doria said they weren't even in a flood plain, that those poor people couldn't even get flood insurance because they weren't but now they'd lost everything in the one thing the insurance company said couldn't happen, a flood. Fern could only imagine how much water that would take, how much water was in the sky falling down on them. She knew Brain would know, but she didn't want to bother him. He was probably worried sick, she thought, remembering how he looked that last day of class.

He looked worse now, something his parents confirmed. Brain couldn't stop repeating numbers and scribbling on napkins and rushing to the computer for sudden research. His mother wanted him to stop completely so he could eat and be less stressed, and finally her husband was ready to support her. Together they went upstairs to his room. They opened the door without knocking. Brain looked up, his bloodshot eyes twitching slightly as the light from the hallway flooded into his dim room.

"Your mother and I have decided that you need to stop. You need to eat, and you need to rest," Mr. Powers said firmly. His general-like tone washed over his son. It took him several moments to process his father's demand.

"B-But I can't stop. I have to know how much is falling. I have to know how much danger we're in," Brain said with a crazed tone.

"We'll keep you safe, Brain. Even if you tried to calculate the rain, you could never know for sure. That's data you gather after a storm, not during. You have to stop. You have to put everything away, eat, then sleep. You can sleep in our bed if you don't feel safe," Mrs. Powers said in the most motherly tone she could muster in her frazzled state.

Brain's eye twitched again. He looked from his calculations and back to his mother, "You're most correct. This is data for after the storm, when you can get data from other places to see how much is flowing here by proxy. You'll help me get the reports later?"

"Only if you stop what you're doing right now. It's not helping anyone," his father insisted. Brain nodded, putting down his pen and following his parents downstairs. He ate multiple servings of food and drank a glass and a half of milk. Then he took a shower in his parents' master bathroom while his mother listened from her room. When he was done, she helped him into bed, where he soon fell asleep.

His parents were nervous, but they refused to show it. One would keep watch over Brain while the other returned to the den to check on the news. The water was still rising, the evacuations were expanding, and there was no real end in sight.


End file.
